Appliance for forming designs with tiles.



No. 7V238,051.

UNITED STATES Patented September 1, 190g.

- PATENT OEEICE.

.APPLlANGE FOR FORMING DESIGNS WITH TILES;

srEoIrrcArloN forming part of Letters Patent' No; 738,051, dated september 1, 1903. Application tiled August 16,1902. Serial No. 119,865. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PAssMoRE MEEKER, a citizen of the United States and of the State of New Jersey, residing at Newark, Essex county, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Appliances for Forming Designs with Tiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved means for arranging small tile, known in the trade as ce1-amies, in various figures and designs, prior to and in readiness for the application of the completed designs to the floors or other surfaces where it is desired to place them 5 and my improvements consist in the particulars hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of my improved design-board with a number of oval tile arranged at the lower left-hand corner. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line X X of Fig. 1 and also showing the paste and paper. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of one of the tiles, also on an enlarged scale; and Fig. i is an end view of the same.

In all the iigures the same parts are referred to by the same reference-letters.

When designs are to be formed with small ceramic tiles having curved or irregular outlines, which leave more or less openings between the tiles when the design has been arranged7 it is tedious and diiiicult to arrange the pattern with small tile accurately and to prevent displacement and dis-arrangement of some of the tile during the operation of forming the design and of pasting the paper or other material thereon. This is particularly the case when such tile as the oval tile, which I have shown in my drawings, are used, for such tile are very easily moved and displaced after they have been arranged. Besides, in setting tiles like these oval tiles the symmetry of the design depends upon the longer axis of the tile being set to correspond with considerable accuracy with certain right lines in the design, and it is a slow and somewhat difficult operation to adjust such tile accurately by the eye so as to secure uniform and even patterns, and when side guides projecting up vbetween the tile are employed they interfere with the close contact of the tiles with each other and make the pattern more open. These difficulties and objections I overcome by my improvements. I first form a sort of skeleton design in straight raised lines upon the design-board and then place upon the skeleton design tile provided with grooves in their backs adapted to receive the raised lines on the design-board, so that each tile will be held in its proper position against lateral displace ment both in completing the design and in pasting the paper or other material over the finished pattern. In doing this I employ a design board, as A, provided with raised edges a a a, and in the upper surface of this design-board I place raised anges, as b b h, arranged to correspond with the longer axis of the tile when placed in position. These flanges may be formed of narrow strips of tin or other sheet metal inserted in the'top of the design-board.

In the back of the tile C, I form a straight groove D of sufficient width and depth to ac; coinmodate a iiange I). This groove is prefer ably made somewhat flaring or wider at its upper side than at the bottom to facilitate its being placed over the flange b; but it must be sufficiently narrow to so closely embrace the flange b when the-tile has been placed over it as to prevent any material displacement of the tile. The tile are set by hand in their proper position upon the design-board and when so arranged are effectually held by the iiange b against displacement. When the desired pattern has been completed, I secure a sheet of paper e or other suitable flexible material to the upper surface of the tile by means of paste f and allow the same to dry. Then dry, the sheet with the tile may be removed from the design-board, and the tile will be held by the paste in their proper relative positions and may be set upon the iioor or other surface where it is desired to set them, and when set the cement which enters the grooves in the back of the tile will serve to give the tile increased firmness against lateral movement or turning or becoming loose in its cement bed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A tile-settin g desi gn-board, provided with raised iianges forming a skeleton in straight IOD si gri-board, provided With raised iianges thereupon, of tile provided with outwardly-daring grooves in their backs, to straddle such flanges, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a tile-setting design-boarch'of raised anges arranged to correspond With a definite axis of the tile to be set on such board, and to enter recesses in the backs of such tile, substantially as set forth.

XVILLIAM PASSMORE MEEKER lVitnesses:

KATHLEEN SNELL, JAMES B. WAssoN. 

